Healthy Eats: My Kale, Spinach and Basil Pesto

I was brainstorming the other day about how I could incorporate really nutritious veg into my meals without it being boring or tasteless (which health food often can be!). I came up with the idea of adapting the traditional pesto recipe to incorporate some extra ingredients. Think of this as a super foods Pesto giving you massive benefits whilst tasting delicious! Here’s why it’s packed full of goodness:

Kale - low in calories, high in fibre, zero fat, high in iron, calcium, and Vitamins A, C and K, powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, good for cardiovascular support, great detox food.

Spinach - excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, magnesium, folate, manganese, iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B2, potassium, and vitamin B6. It’s a very good source of protein, phosphorus, vitamin E, zinc, dietary fiber, and copper. Plus, it’s a good source of selenium, niacin, and omega-3 fatty acids. It’s also a great anti-oxidant.

Basil – decreases stress hormones, clears your skin, great source of iron, detoxifies the body, anti-ageing properties, reduces inflammation and swelling within the body.

Almonds – reduce heart attack risk, lower your cholesterol, protect artery walls from damage, help keep your bone and teeth healthy, provide healthy fats that aid weightloss, lowers blood sugar levels and insulin after meals, improve brain function, nourish the nervous system and they alkalise the body.

Olive Oil - helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases, reduces inflammation, helps prevent stroke, lowers risk of suffering from depression, maintains healthy cholesterol levels, protects against alzheimer’s disease and protects the liver.

Garlic – highly nutritious in manganese, vitamin B, vitamin C, combats the common cold, reduces high blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, anti-oxidant, helps your body rid itself of heavy metals and other toxins, improves bone health

Parmesan (to be eaten in small quantities) – packed with protein, calcium rich, provides vitamin A boost.

Lemon Juice – prevents/treats throat infections, helps indigestion and dental problems, treats fever, internal bleeding, rheumatism, burns, obesity, respiratory disorders, cholera and high blood pressure, while it also benefits hair and skin care, helps to strengthen your immune system, cleanse your stomach, and it is considered a blood purifier.

Makes a small bowl

Ingredients:

30g kale
30g spinach
10g basil
50g Grated Parmesan
20g blanched skinless almonds
3 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

This recipe is so simple! Just chuck everything into a food processor and blitz until you’re happy – depending on whether you like your pesto to be slightly chunky or smooth. You can alter the garlic or lemon juice to your own taste as well. It will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

I love to use this in wraps, on pasta, on fish, stuffed inside chicken, as a dip with raw carrot…the possibilities are endless…enjoy!